Woman helps spot stolen bus in Butler Township

April 23, 2013News Extra

BUTLER TWP — A sharp-eyed woman is being credited with helping township police track down a school bus stolen out of Pittsburgh.

The woman, who authorities did not identify, reported that she was driving on Route 68 about 5:30 p.m. Monday when she spotted the yellow bus behind the Point Plaza, according to a Butler Township police report.

She told police she recognized the bus from a news report that she had viewed on the television just a half-hour earlier,

Officers found the unoccupied 2005 Blue Bird model bus a short time later.

“The keys were in the ignition,” said Detective Sgt. Nathan Teslik. Nothing else apparently looked out of place.

The vehicle, owned by Gibsonia-based Monark Student Transportation Corp., had been reported stolen early Monday morning.

Pittsburgh police said they suspect the bus was taken about 11 p.m. Sunday from the company’s lot in the city’s Lawrenceville neighborhood.

Bus company officials arrived in Butler Township about 7:30 p.m. Monday and retrieved the vehicle.